Draft And Derek Jeter

Happy with your team’s first round selection in the NFL Draft? Everyone knows that John Elway, Deion Sanders and Drew Henson are all New York Yankees picks who went on to have more prolific careers in football than baseball. Many would also argue that Derek Jeter is the top draft choice of the Yanks, since MLB instituted the entry draft. This year, Yankees fans have unfortunately gotten a glimpse of what life on the field looks like without Jeter. So, what would life have looked like for Jeter and the five other teams that whiffed on him? A better question may be what the Yankees would look like but we’ll save that for another day.

1.) Houston Astros: With the first overall pick the Houston Astros select Derek Jeter. With Jeet in a ‘Stros uniform, forget about the “Killer B’s,” meet “The BeeJee’s.” Welcome to the best double-play combination in baseball for the next decade with Derek Jeter and Craig Biggio up the middle. Heck with Jeff Bagwell and Ken Caminiti at the corners, hands down the best infield in the sport. Houston and New York pull off a blockbuster deal that sends Steve Finley, Luis Gonzalez, Gregg Swindell and Xavier Hernandez from the Astros to the Yankees for Bernie Williams, Roberto Kelly, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. Former Yankee Doug Drabek along with Pettitte and a newly signed Roger Clemens along with Rivera in the bullpen help forge a dominant pitching rotation.

In the World Series, Jeter makes a miraculous over the head catch off Gonzalez to end the series. The catch is lauded as the best post-season grab this side of Willie Mays in 1954 and Jeter is labeled Mr. November. In 2002 the inaugural season of the Tri-City ValleyCats, they honor Jeter’s exploits with a bobble-head night.

2.) Cleveland Indians: In Cleveland, Kenny Lofton and Derek Jeter would go on to be one of the most lethal top of the order combos in baseball. Coupled with Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome, the Indians become one of the best dynasties in modern history. Having not drafted Paul Shuey and with Jeter on the way at short, Cleveland deals shortstop Felix Fermin to the New York Yankees for minor league pitcher Mariano Rivera. Cleveland defeats the Florida Marlins in the 1997 World Series, as Rivera gets Edgar Renteria to tap out to Jeter for the final out.

The Cleveland Browns never leave town and Head Coach Bill Belichick drafts a young kid out of Michigan named Tom Brady and Cleveland wins multiple Super Bowls. Two kids from Michigan, leading their respective Ohio teams to victory and with LeBron James winning the NBA title with the Cavs, Cleveland becomes title town.

However, envious of his hometown team’s shortstop, Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner is eventually able to sign Jeter away from the Indians. Years later, adding insult to injury Brady is traded to the New York Jets where he is never the same after getting hit by New England Patriots linebacker Mo Lewis and the Browns move to Los Angeles. Additionally, LeBron James follows suit and signs with the New York Knicks.

3.) Montreal Expos: Drafting for talent rather than need, the Montreal Expos take Derek Jeter instead of pitcher B.J. Wallace. A stacked Montreal team in 1994, the Expos with their young Minor League Player of the Year Jeter on hand, avenge their 1981 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS with a dramatic Game Five victory at Olympic Stadium to save baseball in Montreal. However 1994 would be a championship season for Don Mattingly and the New York Yankees.

With baseball working out their labor negotiations in the off-season, small market teams still take somewhat of a hit. Montreal trades John Wetteland and Larry Walker to the Yankees for Mariano Rivera and Bernie Williams. Yet the new “core” of Jeter, Rivera, Williams, Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero leads Montreal to multiple championships. Their first coming over the Tampa Bay Mariners, as Jeter bested A-Rod for the title.

4.) Baltimore Orioles: Feeling a need to groom an eventual successor to Cal Ripken Jr., the O’s select Derek Jeter rather than outfielder Jeffery Hammonds. Jeter has the unenviable task of taking over for Ripken at short as the Baltimore legend is shifted to third base. With Ripken, Jeter, Roberto Alomar and Rafael Palmeiro rounding out the diamond, the Orioles have an infield for the ages. Baltimore Owner Peter Angelos gets back to David Cone during the 1995 off-season and the rotation led by Cone, Mike Mussina and David Wells is able to reach the World Series.

A young boy and his family travel from Chicago to Baltimore to see their Cubs play the Orioles in Game Seven of the World Series. In the ninth, Jeter lifted a deep fly to the outfield wall, caught by that young boy from Chicago, named Steve Bartman. The home run call stands and Jeter becomes Mr. November.

5.) Cincinnati Reds: Rather than draft Chad Mottola, the Reds took Derek Jeter to be the eventual successor to Barry Larkin at shortstop. Cincinnati later trades Larkin to the Yankees for budding center fielder Bernie Williams. Steinbrenner obsessed with the 1986 New York Mets also trades for Randy Myers. The Yankees in that deal get Myers along with John Smiley for Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte Forming a solid core, Jeter, Williams, Paul O’Neill and Mariano Rivera, along with a rotation of Jose Rijo, David Wells and Pettitte, make the Reds a perennial contender in the National League.

Jeter breaks former Red Pete Rose’s all-time hit record.

Overall these scenarios may be a bit outlandish but not unimaginable. Luckily for the New York Yankees and Derek Jeter, “what if” landed at pick number six and the rest as they say is history.